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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27662372">Hidden</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/plutosrose/pseuds/plutosrose'>plutosrose</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Bucky Barnes Bingo 2020 [19]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(Slightly) Unclear Communication, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dragons are shapeshifters, M/M, Memory Issues, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Wizard!Steve, consensual drug use, dragon!Bucky</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 22:19:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,398</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27662372</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/plutosrose/pseuds/plutosrose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>There was a gust of wind, and a man appeared above him. “Who are you? Why are you here?” </p><p>Bucky pressed his forehead into the dirt, avoiding the man’s gaze. “I’m sorry,” he murmured into the grass, “I’m sorry, I’m not going to hurt you, but I need a place to stay. I need help.”</p><p>-</p><p>A dragon escapes from a dungeon and finds a wizard.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Bucky Barnes Bingo 2020 [19]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1882291</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>109</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Bucky Barnes Bingo 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Hidden</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bucky held his breath as he raced through the woods outside the duke’s castle, Pierce’s men’s voices in the distance as he slipped through the trees. He looked up through the branches, dark night sky filtering through. For a split second, he thought about taking to the sky, but no, that was too risky. In all likelihood, Rumlow would find him. </p><p>Rumlow always found him. </p><p>He paused, wobbling on his feet as he tried to figure out where to go. He didn’t have time. He’d known that the moment that he’d set off in a run. </p><p>Whatever potion they’d given him was still working its way through his system. His entire body felt off-balance. Occasionally, he would look ahead, and the trees would shift before him, tangling themselves together. He would have to keep telling himself that whatever he saw was in his mind--and nowhere else.</p><p>Images of Pierce’s dungeon flashed through his head--the bite of chains into his wrists; the unrelenting cold that wound its way through his body and filled his nose and mouth, threatening to drown him; blood--his and someone else’s. </p><p>And death.</p><p>Someone else’s, to be sure, but from the way that the ground threatened to give way under his feet, colors shifting and swirling, he couldn’t be entirely confident that it wasn’t his own. </p><p>-</p><p>Bucky wasn’t sure how long he’d been running. But at the very least, he could no longer hear Pierce’s men. If he couldn’t hear them, then there was a good chance that he was both a fair distance from the castle. Maybe he’d even lost them completely. </p><p>He staggered forward into a clearing. It was a bad idea, probably. He should have kept firmly to the shadows, but there was something about it that pulled him forward. </p><p>In the distance, he could make out a small house. There were lights on inside, taking on a glittering, hypnotic quality in the darkness. </p><p>If he’d had any sense, he would have stayed away, he thought. The air was thick with magic, and was nearly crackling with energy.</p><p>But he didn’t have time to make a choice, because just then, an invisible force slammed into him, forcing him to the ground. </p><p>There was a gust of wind, and a man appeared above him. “Who are you? Why are you here?” </p><p>Bucky pressed his forehead into the dirt, avoiding the man’s gaze. “I’m sorry,” he murmured into the grass, “I’m sorry, I’m not going to hurt you, but I need a place to stay. I need help.”</p><p>The man sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “You can come inside,” he said, and after a moment’s pause, he reached out to help Bucky stand. </p><p>Bucky trotted after him, only making it a few steps before he could feel bile rising in his throat. </p><p>The man paused, eyebrow raised. “Are you okay?”</p><p>Bucky shook his head and emptied the contents of his stomach onto the grass.</p><p>“I guess that answers that question,” the man murmured, pulling Bucky back up. “Come on.”</p><p>The man had wrapped his arms around him, hauling him back to his feet. Bucky was grateful for the support, because there was no way that he could have walked the short distance under his own power. His muscles felt far too relaxed and useless.</p><p>“Steve,” the man said as he helped Bucky lay back onto a bed that was less a bed than a mass of pillows. “Figure there’s no harm in you knowing that I’m out here.” </p><p>Why there’d be an issue with anyone knowing where Steve was, Bucky had no idea, but he figured that now was not the time to be making those kinds of distinctions. “Bucky.”</p><p>“Can I?” Steve asked, pulling at the edge of Bucky’s shirt. He nodded, noticing now in the soft light of the cabin, that his shirt had gone dark and wet with blood. </p><p>He blinked down at the wound, cautiously putting his hand against it. When had that gotten there?</p><p>Steve’s brow was furrowed with concern. “Who did this?”</p><p>Bucky shook his head. “I don’t know.”</p><p>It was when Steve’s eyes fell on his arm, where skin met scales, that he took a step back.</p><p>“Did someone send you here?” he asked. His tone wasn’t angry or demanding, but it was firm, challenging. In a weird way, Bucky wondered if Steve wanted him to lie to him. </p><p>Bucky let his head fall back on the pillows as he shook his head. “No,” he murmured. “Nobody sent me.”</p><p>Steve’s gaze felt heavy, searching. Finally, he nodded. “Okay. I have a few things that might help.”</p><p>Bucky so badly wanted to close his eyes, but now that he was inside, lying near a warm fire, it was as though his body had decided that now, he could feel pain. </p><p>To try and distract himself, he watched Steve rifle through little jars containing dark green herbs--at least, he thought they were mostly herbs--at one point, he could have sworn that he saw him pick up something purple and slimy out of one of the jars--something that was actually moving.</p><p>It was possible the potion was still working its way through his system, but from what little he knew of wizards--they were truly bizarre humans. Rumlow for example had no shortage of bizarre ingredients kept in Pierce’s dungeons.</p><p>He shivered. Even though the fire was bright and big and warm, he felt the same cold from the dungeon snaking its way through his muscles. </p><p>Steve seemed to notice almost immediately, the same look of concern on his face as he approached. “It’s okay. I have a couple of things that will help.”</p><p>-</p><p>The shackles burned his skin, but the potion that Rumlow had forced him to drink made him feel like his entire body had burst into flames.</p><p>“This will help,” Rumlow said. “This will make you what you’re supposed to be.”</p><p>-</p><p>Steve reached forward, and Bucky immediately reached out to grab his hand. “No.”</p><p>He raised an eyebrow at him. “Bucky, you can’t stay here like this. I’m not going to just sit here and watch you die.”</p><p>Bucky slowly let go of his hand and nodded. “I’m sorry.”</p><p>“You don’t have to apologize.” Steve started by running a warm cloth over the wound. “Do you remember how this happened? It might help me figure out what remedy would be best.”</p><p>Bucky shook his head. “I don’t remember anything.”</p><p>Steve’s gaze kept drifting to the scales that were on his shoulder, and that ran down his arm in uneven patches. </p><p>“Did someone do this to you?”</p><p>Steve’s voice was rich and warm and kind. For a moment, he almost wished as though he could have lived inside that question.</p><p>Bucky was quiet for what felt like a long time while Steve cleaned the wound, sending little shivers up his spine. “They didn’t do anything, really. It’s who I really am.” </p><p>“Dragons are dead,” Steve said, though his gaze never left Bucky’s shoulder. “They were all wiped out a long time ago.”</p><p>“No,” Bucky bit his lip. “I don’t know how long I was down there, but I know what I am. I know what I could be, and I know what they wanted me to be. What they tried to make me be.”</p><p>Steve took a deep breath. He looked like he was on the edge of a fight, though Bucky had a feeling that the fight wasn’t with him. </p><p>“I don’t remember much of anything,” Bucky added, “Just a few things.” His name was just about the only thing he hadn’t forgotten, when he really thought about it. Did he have a family? Brothers, sisters? If he did, where they down in the dungeon at that very moment, wondering when someone would come and save them? Trying to escape themselves? </p><p>“What do you remember?”</p><p>Blood.</p><p>The cold.</p><p>Death.</p><p>“I did things,” he gulped. “Bad things.”</p><p>“Where did you come from, Buck?”</p><p>Steve did not turn his back on him--rather, he gathered up several different herbs--and a few vials of something squishy and dark-red that Bucky didn’t want to know about, and started mashing them together with a mortar and pestle. </p><p>Bucky furrowed his brow. “The castle.”</p><p>“Before that?” Steve asked, getting up only to slide the ingredients into a cauldron that was situated above the fire. As it brewed, a stubbornly sweet smell filled his nostrils--one that he wasn’t sure smelled good or made his stomach churn. </p><p>Bucky wrinkled his nose reflexively as he tried to think, tried to pry something out of the cotton in his mind, before he shook his head. “I don’t know.” </p><p>Steve’s expression softened, and he nodded. “Okay.” </p><p>“Okay?” he raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to tell me,” Steve said simply, and Bucky felt a warmth spread throughout his body that had nothing to do with the warm fire burning in the hearth.</p><p>“The potion will help,” Steve bit his lip as he went over to the cauldron and ladled some of the liquid into a cup. “But it has some unusual side effects.”</p><p>The wound across his abdomen was prickling and burning insistently--so Bucky was well-past the point of caring about the side effect of any potion that Steve might give him. “What is it?”</p><p>“It should heal the wound on your abdomen, it’s not as deep as I thought it was, thank the Gods,” Steve shook his head, before he turned bright red.</p><p>“You may...” Steve bit his lip and turned impossibly redder. “Become aroused. I can uh...” Steve looked around the tiny cabin, before he settled on a point outside in the distance. “I’ll just go if you want to drink it. You don’t have to, but I promise it will help.”</p><p>“No,” Bucky said suddenly, locking eyes with him for a few seconds. “I want you to stay, please. It’s your house, anyway. I’m the one who shouldn’t be here.”</p><p>Steve shook his head. “You needed my help. I don’t turn my back on people who need my help.”</p><p>Bucky took the cup in his hands, and inhaled deeply. This time, the smell was intoxicating. He wasn’t sure he could stop himself from tasting it even if he didn’t want to. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest. “Don’t leave,” he murmured again.</p><p>“Don’t worry, I won’t,” Steve smiled gently. </p><p>-</p><p>Steve pulled a chair close as Bucky downed the potion in one gulp. He was grateful that he had, because he was almost certain that if he’d let himself linger on the taste, he’d go a little mad. It tasted like warmth, like the solstice, like summer, like home. It might have been a little cliché to admit, but he’d come to accept that some of the arts that wizards dabbled in were beyond his understanding.</p><p>The potion burned pleasantly as it went down his throat. He craned his neck and noticed that the wound on his abdomen was already beginning to close on its own. He let out a little laugh in relief.</p><p>And that was when he felt it--the twist of arousal that pooled in his belly, the shiver that went up his spine. </p><p>He clenched his jaw and tried to hold in a moan, but it was too hard. Only a few seconds later, he let his head fall back, and he let out the moan that he’d been holding in, squeezing his eyes shut. He would have wondered if it had been a good idea to ask Steve to stay, only he couldn’t think of anything else.</p><p>Whatever was in the potion was snaking its way through his senses, pleasantly prickling his nerves, massaging his muscles and warmly coaxing him to come. </p><p>It didn’t last long, but it felt like it was hours before he was able to drift all the way back down to earth. </p><p>When he opened his eyes, Steve seemed to be fighting the urge to fidget in his seat, muscles twitching. “I’m sorry,” Steve shook his head. “I really should have left.”</p><p>“Don’t be ridiculous,” Bucky sighed. “I asked you to stay, didn’t I?”</p><p>Steve hesitated, and frankly, for a moment, Bucky thought he was fighting with himself over what to say, before he said, “Yeah, you did. I’ll make you something to eat.”</p><p>He had wandered over to the small kitchen and started to chop carrots and onions. The rhythmic sound of the knife hitting wood almost lulled Bucky to sleep, before a thought occurred to him.</p><p>“You wanted to watch, didn’t you?”</p><p>Steve paused for a moment, knife embedded in a large onion. “Yeah,” he said softly. “I did.” </p><p>Bucky couldn’t stop a grin from spreading across his features. </p><p>-</p><p>The next morning when he woke up, he could smell something sweet cooking. </p><p>“You’re awake,” Steve smiled brightly. “I have some bread–got eggs the last time that I was in town, too.”</p><p>Sitting in front of a plate of fresh bread, with golden yellow butter melting across it, Bucky felt overwhelmed with happiness. When he actually took a bite, he thought that he would cry--he couldn’t remember the last time that he’d had a proper meal (and while he couldn’t remember a lot to begin with, he felt like this was saying something). </p><p>“Eggs would sound really good too,” Bucky said, his mouth full of bread. </p><p>Steve just smiled and said, “You got it.” </p><p>He’d had just finished the slices of bread when he looked through the window and saw men walking toward the cabin. </p><p>Against his better instincts, he walked closer to get a better look. His stomach immediately twisted itself in knots. </p><p>“Shit,” Bucky muttered as he ducked underneath the window.</p><p>The eggs were still sizzling on Steve’s small stove, but he craned his neck to see what Bucky was looking at, before he also ducked. “That’s Duke Alexander.”</p><p>“You can’t let me go back,” Bucky pled. “Please. I’ll do anything. I’ll--”</p><p>Steve held up a hand to stop him. “You already convinced me last night, Buck.” </p><p>“Why are you helping me?” Bucky asked, brows knitted together in worry. It didn’t make sense. Steve didn’t know if he was a good person or not. Hell, he didn’t even know if he was a good person or not. </p><p>“Because you’re a person who needs help,” Steve shrugged. “It’s not anymore complicated than that.” </p><p>Steve’s eyes widened, however, when he saw the man with Duke Alexander creating runic symbols in the air. “You have to get in the cellar right now,” he reached out and curled his hand around Bucky’s arm. “Just right now, okay?”</p><p>The last place that Bucky wanted to be was underground, but he went easily when Steve pulled him. Pierce wanted him back, and he’d take a few minutes in a root cellar over living in his dungeon again.</p><p>Steve moved a woven rug out of the way and pulled a trapdoor open, and Bucky climbed in. “Don’t make any noise. I’ll get you out as soon as it’s safe.” </p><p>When the door closed above him, Bucky couldn’t stop himself from feeling a creeping sense of loneliness and dread. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath, and tried to remind himself that he was safe. Steve, for some inexplicable reason, was on his side. Steve wanted to keep him safe. He was safe.</p><p>He would be safe. </p><p>“Steven,” Pierce made a face that looked like a parody of a smile, Bucky thought.</p><p>“Your Excellency,” Steve said flatly.</p><p>“Please, please,” Pierce waved him away as though he didn’t enjoy hearing people refer to him by such terms. </p><p>“What brings you to my humble home?”</p><p>“I believe that you are harboring a very dangerous individual.” </p><p>Steve furrowed his brow and pursed his lips. “Wow, that sounds bad. Can you describe this person to me?”</p><p>“Not a person,” Pierce said icily, although he was still smiling. “An individual. If I were to reveal who they were to you, it could be very dangerous.”</p><p>Steve stared blankly at him. “Well, unfortunately, since you are being very confusing, I have no idea what you’re talking about, and I’d really like to finish eating breakfast, I’d like to bid you good day, Your Excellency.”</p><p>Rumlow stepped closer. “Sir, I detected movement when we arrived.” He was making a show of whispering this observation to Pierce--well, definitely not whispering, since Bucky could hear him perfectly and Steve no doubt could too. </p><p>“You wouldn’t mind letting us have a look around, would you?” Rumlow asked gruffly. </p><p>“I very much would, yes,” Steve said, “It’s just me here. Sorry.”</p><p>“Steven,” Pierce tried again. Bucky could tell that his patience was wearing thin. In the back of his mind, a memory of Pierce slapping him across the face was unearthed. He furrowed his brow as it tried to bubble to the surface, trying to force himself to concentrate.</p><p>“This individual is a dragon. He may look human, but he has the ability to shift. Once he shifts, he will be completely uncontrollable, and it is your duty to help me summon--” </p><p>“I assure you,” Steve said, leaning forward to stare into Pierce’s eyes, challenging him to say otherwise. “If I were hiding a dragon in my home, I would be the first to know.” </p><p>Pierce raised an eyebrow at him. “Of course you would be the first to know, you would be the one hiding him.”</p><p>“Exactly,” Steve smiled widely. Pierce’s face crumpled in a look that was a cross between outrage and disgust. </p><p>“I will be back,” Pierce insisted, which made Steve bark out a laugh.</p><p>“No, you won’t.”</p><p>Pierce stepped closer to him, narrowing his eyes dangerously. “Do you really want to challenge me?”</p><p>Steve shrugged. “You see, I might not know much about this dragon. But I can tell you that if I did know something, the first person that I would tell would be the King. I’m sure he’d be very interested in finding out why you seem to be holding dragons in your castle.”</p><p>“Rumlow broke the enchantments on your little...homestead,” Pierce spat out, which made Steve laugh again.</p><p>“No offense, but...those are basically a parlor trick.” Steve grinned, wide, toothy, and daring. Judging by the shock he’d seen on Steve’s face when Rumlow had broken the enchantments, he was lying. Bucky felt a little amused. “It’s mostly meant to keep out the bears and big cats around here. So what you’re saying is that your wizard is more intelligent than a bear. High praise.” </p><p>Rumlow growled and stepped forward, only for Pierce to push him back. Bucky blinked. Pierce not encouraging Rumlow to fight someone? Now that was odd.</p><p>“I’m sure that I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Pierce said finally, before prodding Rumlow (who grumbled quite loudly) toward the door. “We will see you soon, Steven.” </p><p>-</p><p>“They’re gone.”</p><p>Steve pulled the trapdoor up, and gave Bucky a hand to help pull him out. “They might be back, you know.”</p><p>Steve shook his head. “There’s a reason that Pierce hasn’t been out here before, and I doubt that he would be eager to come back. Rumlow could be a concern, but...nothing I haven’t dealt with before, really.”</p><p>“He said something about summoning....”</p><p>“....hydra,” Steve finished. “Wizards can summon all sorts of creatures from other realms, and hydras are one of them. Pierce has wanted me to summon one for years.”</p><p>“Couldn’t Rumlow--” Bucky started, before he fell silent. Steve grinned.</p><p>“I don’t think Rumlow can do shit,” he said with a laugh, and Bucky couldn’t help but smile a little too, despite the fact that his heart was racing.</p><p>Cautiously, he reached for Steve’s hand. Steve didn’t push him away. </p><p>“There are others, like me,” Bucky murmured, Steve’s hand an anchor. “I can’t leave them there.”</p><p>Steve bit his lip, before he nodded. “You’re right, we can’t just leave them there.”</p><p>“This isn’t your fight,” Bucky had intended to say the words with firmness and certainty. Instead, they came out sounding a lot less confident than he’d meant them to.</p><p>“I can handle myself,” Steve said, rubbing Bucky’s hand gently. “And besides, I want to help.”</p><p>“Okay,” Bucky started smiling before he realized it. “Then we’ll do it together.”</p><p>Steve smiled back, “Together.”</p>
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